Paris 2024 Paralympic Games: Valérie Pécresse wants to make the Paris metro accessible to all

Valérie Pécresse has been the president of the Ile-de-France region since 2015. Midi Libre – MiKAEL ANISSET

“A metro for all”: while unveiling the transport plan for the Paralympic Games, the president of the Ile-de-France region, Valérie Pécresse, called on Monday for a vast project, estimated at between 15 and 20 billion euros, in order to make the “thirteen historic lines” of the Paris metro accessible.

“This project, “A metro for all”, could become the major project of the decade with the accessibility of the historic metro”, declared Ms. Pécresse, also president of Ile-de-France Mobilités (IDFM), the region's transport authority, at a press conference.

A cost of around 20 billion euros

Ms. Pécresse estimated that it would take at least twenty years to make the metro network accessible, with “undoubtedly” “technical impossibilities” on certain stations, in a Paris “extremely urbanized”. To estimate the cost, she indicated that she was relying on studies carried out on line 6, partly above ground, therefore “cheaper to make accessible”.

This line would cost between 600 and 800 million euros, says Ms. Pécresse. “I am ready, and I have said so, […] to complete this financing plan by making three equal parts, one part Region, one part State, one part City of Paris”, said the regional president about the work estimated at between 15 and 20 billion euros for the entire network of the metropolitan.

Ces Jeux Paralympiques, nous devons les réussir aussi bien que les Jeux Olympiques. Gestion efficace des flux, renfort d’offre, navettes gratuites et minibus dédiés pour les personnes en situation de handicap, présence humaine renforcée… tout sera mis en œuvre pour être au… pic.twitter.com/NniyxsTWPW

— Valérie Pécresse (@vpecresse) August 26, 2024

"My proposal is on the table and the hand is extended", said Ms. Pécresse, also insisting on consultation with residents. The organization of the Paralympic Games in Paris (August 28 – September 8) illustrated the glaring lack of accessibility of transport in the capital.

Only 25% accessibility to the rail network for the Paralympic Games

While all the Games sites will be well served by accessible stations and train stations, according to Ms. Pécresse, the historic metro network remains “the black spot”. In Paris intramuros, she detailed, “we have 100% accessibility of buses, but only 25% accessibility of the rail network: metro, tram, RER“.

During the Paralympic Games, 100 minibuses will be chartered to take “as close as possible to the Games”people with disabilities and their companions, from eight stations equipped with elevators in particular.

📣 A l'occasion des Jeux Olympiques de Paris 2024, nous sommes allés à la rencontre des spectateurs en situation de #handicap utilisant les navettes accessibles mises en place par Île-de-France Mobilités pour se rendre sur les sites de compétition.
Elles seront aussi disponibles… pic.twitter.com/37Zb1eKEeM

— IDF Mobilités (@IDFmobilites) August 20, 2024

On the “Transport Public Paris 2024” application, it will also be possible to choose the wheelchair passenger functionality with “100% accessible routes”.

300,000 spectators per day

During these Paralympic Games, Ile-de-France mobilités expects to welcome up to 300,000 spectators per day, half as many as during the Olympic Games. “We're going to have a lot more people to transport”, nevertheless notes Valérie Pécresse, because 5 million passengers are expected each day on the network from the start of the school year on September 2.

Thus, more trains will run on 13 metro, RER and train lines – up to 10% more on line 13 for example.

To access certain competition sites, Ile-de-France Mobilités advises spectators on routes that avoid lines 13 and 9 for example, which are reserved for "daily transport" and are regularly congested.